There are two main types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer. NSCLC accounts for about 80% of lung cancers. Three most common types of NSCLC in the United States are adenocarcinoma/bronchoalveolar (35-40%), squamous cell carcinoma (25-30%) and large-cell carcinoma (10-15%). Lung cancer is most easily and successfully treated if it is caught early. An early-stage cancer is less likely to have grown to a large size or to have spread to other parts of the body (metastasized). Large or metastasized cancers are much more difficult to be treated.
Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. It is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Many colorectal cancers are thought to arise from adenomatous polyps in the colon. These mushroom-shaped growths are usually benign, but some may develop into cancer over time. The majority of the time the diagnosis of localized colon cancer is through colonoscopy.
Diagnostic markers for early stage lung and colorectal cancers will have a significant impact on the morbidity and mortality of these diseases. Detection of cancer cell-specific biomarkers provides an effective screening strategy. It can also screen for and detect post-operative residual tumor cells, and for occult metastases, an early indicator of tumor recurrence. Early detection can thus improve survival in patients before symptoms are detectable clinically while undergoing treatment and while in remission. Certain markers were known in the art to make predictions of a patient's cancer risk using tumor tissues, however, it was not predicted nor predictable that the same markers could be detected in blood (see “DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION; Detections of cancer gene markers in tissue versus blood samples”).
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies, especially in connection with the method of detecting lung and/or colorectal cancers from peripheral blood samples.